‘See those two,’ he said, motioning at Jed and Skinny. Both men were flattened out on the dusty ground, cradling their wounds and staring with pale faces at the crumbling garage, still ablaze.
The girl nodded.
‘They don’t look so tough now, do they?’ he said.
She shook her head. ‘Thank you so much for helping me.’
‘Not a problem.’
They set off towards the car.
‘What’s your name, by the way?’ he asked.
‘Amanda.’
‘I’m Jason. Ready to go back home to your parents, Amanda?’
‘Yeah. I just want to see Dad.’
‘What were you doing out here anyway?’
Her slight shoulders slumped. ‘They grabbed me in town. Look, I’ll tell you all about it in the car… just… please… get me out of here.’
King opened the door for her and she slipped into the passenger seat, weeping. He crossed to the other side, started the engine and pulled out onto the main road. He took a final look back at the clubhouse. Two severely injured bikers trembling in the dirt, a third still out cold inside. The beefy guy would be nursing his injuries for the next six months.
As he drove away, the garage’s supports reached their breaking point and the entire structure fell inwards, sending flames sky-high.
‘Hell of a morning,’ King muttered under his breath.
He took the rundown sedan round a corner and the clubhouse disappeared from sight.
CHAPTER 10
Amanda remained silent for the next fifteen minutes.
King didn’t bother her. She had been through a lot. He couldn’t imagine how violating the experience must have been. To think if those men had gone any further…
‘Are you okay?’ he asked again as the sedan cruised into the heart of Jameson. There was less activity than when he had first woken up. He guessed most residents were farming. Only a couple of pedestrians could be seen on the footpaths.
‘I guess so,’ she said. ‘I’m just thinking about what could have happened.’
‘They won’t be doing anything like that again.’
‘To me?’
‘To anyone. Trust me.’
‘I’ve never seen you around.’
‘I’m from out of town. Where do you live?’
‘Ten minutes out of Jameson. I’ll direct you. Just keep driving.’
The shops and main roads slowly disappeared, replaced once again by the uneven surface of potholed country tarmac.
‘So, Amanda, what were you doing there?’ King said.
‘I’ve been hanging around town a lot lately,’ she said. ‘Dad’s looking for work so he’s not around to keep an eye on me. I just roam the streets some days. Probably not the best idea.’
‘I’d say it’s not.’
‘This morning I was walking back from Gemma’s house. Those guys pulled up on their bikes. They were really rude. It’s pretty clear I’m young and they were still jeering and catcalling me.’
‘How old are you, exactly?’
‘Thirteen.’
King shook his head in frustration. Barely a teenager. ‘Did they kidnap you?’
‘Not exactly… well, I don’t know. They just told me to get on the back of the bike and that they would take me home. They were forceful. I was scared. I thought they’d hurt me if I didn’t do what they said.’
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I understand.’
‘But they didn’t take me home — they took me to their clubhouse. They said they wanted to show me around. I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea where I was, so I couldn’t run away. Then they locked the door and the big guy said he wanted to have some fun and…’
She trailed off. King reached across the centre console and rested a hand on her shoulder.
‘It’s okay,’ he said. ‘I’ll get you home.’
‘How can you be so sure that they won’t do that to someone else?’
‘I saw it in their eyes. I broke them.’
‘Who the hell are you?’ Amanda said. ‘Where did you come from, and why did you help me, and how did you do what you just did?’
‘I’d be confused too,’ King said. ‘Look, I can’t really go into details, but I used to be a very dangerous man—’
‘Pretty sure you still are.’
‘Okay, I still am. My job used to involve using those skills, and now I don’t have a job. So I help people out when I see things I don’t like.’
‘And you can’t say what exactly you used to do?’
He shook his head. ‘That’s not something we should get into.’
Amanda shrugged. ‘Well, you sure helped me. Thank you, Jason. Left here.’
For the last ten minutes they had coasted along winding roads, boxed in by undergrowth and towering tree trunks on either side. Now, Amanda pointed at a small dirt track that ran off the main road and cut through the trees. King spun the wheel. Billy’s sedan made the transition from uneven asphalt to gravel. Its suspension struggled to handle the off-road track. He saw Amanda tense up and shrink back into her seat. He wasn’t sure if she was recalling memories of the morning, or simply had not been expecting the jolts and bumps of the new road. Whatever it was, King would have a stern talk with her father. To be left to her own devices at such a young age was bound to lead to trouble sooner or later.
It only took half a minute for the path to branch out into a wide clearing, dead in the middle of the forest. The woods surrounded them on all sides. A thin, well-kept layer of grass covered the clearing floor. In the centre of the space lay a sprawling one-storey house. It looked similar to a lodge. Long and large and homely.
‘This your place?’ he said.
Amanda nodded.
‘It’s nice.’
‘Dad’s home,’ she noted, pointing to a thin trail of smoke rising from the chimney. She sounded surprised, King noticed.
‘I’m not sure how he’ll feel about this,’ he muttered under his breath.
‘Huh?’
As if on cue, the front door burst open and a man came bounding out into the clearing floor. He was thickset and squat, with curly black hair and a full beard. He wore a cheap plaid shirt and jeans. His feet were bare.
‘Who the fuck are you?!’ he yelled.
King turned to Amanda. ‘See?’
He swung the driver’s door open and stepped out into the clearing. Amanda’s dad recoiled slightly as he saw King’s size. But it didn’t stem his anger.
‘What are you doing with my daughter? Amanda, honey, come here…’
King twitched slightly. Something about what the man had said struck a nerve with him.
‘What are you doing without your daughter?’ he said.
The man froze, perplexed. ‘What?’
‘You should be on your knees thanking me.’
‘The hell are you talking about?’
‘Do you know where your daughter was this morning?’
‘With you, I presume. And you have ten seconds to explain this.’
King raised an eyebrow. ‘Actually, I have all the time in the world to explain this. But don’t worry, it’ll only take me ten seconds. I saved Amanda from being raped.’
The man had not been expecting that. Instantly, the aggressive demeanour faded. ‘W-what?’
King turned to Amanda. ‘Why don’t you head inside? I’ve got to tell your dad a few things.’
She nodded knowingly. She stepped up onto the porch and marched through the open front door without saying a word.
Her dad sank onto the front steps, sporting a blank ten-thousand-yard stare. ‘What are you saying?’
‘What’s your name?’ King said.
‘Richard.’
‘Richard, do you know the four bikers that hang around town? One of them’s called Jed.’
‘I’ve seen them around. You’re not telling me—’
‘Looks like they offered your daughter a lift home. She was walking back from Jameson this morning. They ended up ignoring her directions and she ended up trapped in their clubhouse. I was passing by, knocked on their door, and by then they had all her clothes off.’